Saudi Aramco stated Thursday that it signed an $11 billion lease and leaseback deal involving its Jafurah natural-gas processing services with a consortium of worldwide buyers, led by funds managed by World Infrastructure Companions (GIP), part of BlackRock.
Jafurah is the most important non-associated gasoline growth in Saudi Arabia, estimated to include 229 trillion normal cubic toes of uncooked gasoline and 75 billion inventory tank barrels of condensate. It’s a key element in Aramco’s plans to extend gasoline manufacturing capability by 60% between 2021 and 2030, to satisfy rising demand.
As a part of the transaction, Jafurah Midstream Gasoline Firm (JMGC) will lease growth and utilization rights for the Jafurah Area Gasoline Plant and the Riyas NGL Fractionation Facility, and lease them again to Aramco for a interval of 20 years.
JMGC will obtain a tariff payable by Aramco in alternate for granting Aramco the unique proper to obtain, course of, and deal with uncooked gasoline from Jafurah.
Aramco will maintain a 51% majority stake in JMGC, with the remaining 49% held by buyers led by GIP. The transaction, which won’t impose any restrictions on Aramco’s manufacturing volumes, is predicted to shut as quickly as practicable, topic to customary closing circumstances.
In accordance with Aramco president and chief govt Amin Nasser, “Jafurah is a cornerstone of our formidable gasoline enlargement program, and the GIP-led consortium’s participation as buyers in a key element of our unconventional gasoline operations demonstrates the engaging worth proposition of the mission.
“This international direct funding into the Kingdom additionally highlights the attraction of Aramco’s long-term technique to the worldwide funding neighborhood,” Nasser stated.
“As Jafurah prepares to start out part one manufacturing this 12 months, growth of subsequent phases is properly on monitor,” he said. “We stay up for Jafurah enjoying a significant function as a feedstock supplier to the petrochemicals sector, and supplying power required to energy new development sectors, corresponding to AI information facilities, within the Kingdom.”
GIP chairman and chief govt Adebayo Ogunlesi stated that Thursday’s “announcement builds upon BlackRock and GIP’s longstanding relationship with Aramco to serve rising market wants for cleaner fuels, power safety, and power affordability.”
The chance to put money into one of many area’s most important natural-gas developments garnered important curiosity from buyers worldwide, Aramco stated. Co-investors within the transaction embody main institutional buyers from Asia and the Center East. When accomplished, the transaction will help the optimization of Aramco’s property and seize extra worth from the event of the Jafurah gasoline area.
GIP’s mid-market infrastructure fairness workforce, which invests in diversified and contracted mid-market infrastructure property and companies all over the world, has a sturdy, long-term monitor report of profitable investments within the Center East.
The funding additionally builds upon the robust current relationship between Aramco and BlackRock. In 2022, BlackRock co-led a consortium of buyers in a separate minority funding in Aramco Gasoline Pipelines Firm.
